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# Jelena Jelušić - Engineering Management Meetup Success Story Discover How to Host Events Engineers Love

Jelena Jelušić reveals how to host engineering events developers actually want to attend. Discover the blueprint for creating safe, sales-free spaces that naturally attract top-tier leadership talent.

- **Speakers:** [Jelena Jelušić](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@jelena-jelusic)
- **Event:** World Congress 2024
- **Published:** August 13, 2024
- **Duration:** 35:00
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/924-jelena-jelusic-engineering-management-meetup-success-story-discover-how-to-host-events-engineers-love

## Summary

When rapidly scaling startup Photomath needed to build out its engineering leadership, the company encountered a major hurdle: senior engineers were reluctant to transition into management due to poor industry perceptions, and local engineering management practices were lagging. To address this, the company established dual individual contributor and management career paths and launched an internal management academy to ensure developers were promoted for the right motivations. Realizing the broader industry needed a space for peer learning, they expanded this internal initiative into an external Engineering Management Meetup designed to demystify the leadership track and foster modern management habits.

The event series became a massive success by proving that engineers will deeply engage with leadership topics if the environment is authentic and safe. Critical success factors included securing top-tier tech speakers, keeping the audience exclusive to like-minded peers, and deliberately not recording the live Q&A sessions to encourage vulnerable, relaxed discussions. By ensuring the events remained strictly educational—with absolutely no sales pitches or active recruiting—the organizers built profound trust and generated explosive word-of-mouth growth. To overcome the reluctance of internal engineers to present on stage, the organizing team provided external public speaking coaches and dedicated presentation designers, successfully turning hesitant tech talent into confident brand ambassadors.

Ultimately, the meetups cultivated an active local community of over 700 professionals and dramatically elevated the company's employer brand as an incubator for empathetic leaders. The initiative proved so vital to the tech ecosystem that even after Google acquired the core company, the meetup transitioned into a fully independent, volunteer-driven entity backed by local sponsors. For people-ops professionals, this story provides a highly actionable blueprint for community-driven employer branding: finding the sweet spot between internal organizational needs and untapped external market interest creates a sustainable ecosystem that organically attracts and developers top-tier engineering talent.

**Keywords:** engineering management meetup, employer branding strategy, tech community building, dual career paths, engineering leadership development, individual contributor transition, tech event organization, talent retention practices, word-of-mouth marketing, peer learning networks, public speaking coaching, psychological safety, management academy, tech talent engagement

## Chapters

1. **Overcoming resistance to engineering management roles** (00:01) — Rapid company scaling reveals a lack of senior engineers willing to transition into people leadership.
1. **Developing dual career paths and management academies** (03:52) — Internal training programs and external market hires establish formalized engineering leadership tracks.
1. **Launching a community meetup for engineering managers** (07:05) — Cultivating a physical networking space allows new and aspiring tech leaders to share practices.
1. **Core elements of a successful community tech event** (11:01) — In-person networking, exclusive attendance, and safe discussion environments foster deeper engagement among attendees.
1. **Promoting events through tech media partnerships** (15:07) — Utilizing podcasts, speaker interviews, and long-tail content organically grows community reach without paid advertising.
1. **Analyzing audience demographics and meetup community impact** (19:54) — Providing continuous learning opportunities positions the host company as a highly desirable tech employer.
1. **Transitioning to an independent volunteer community model** (23:13) — Corporate acquisitions can force community initiatives to pivot towards sustainable, brand-agnostic strategic partnerships.
1. **Actionable strategies for hosting successful engineering meetups** (25:50) — Identifying market gaps and empowering reluctant speakers ensures consistent, high-quality event programming.
1. **Navigating leadership promotions and event management logistics** (29:33) — Mentorship programs ease transitions from peer to manager while careful event organization maintains attendee exclusivity.

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